Submerged combustion evaporation



Dec. 11, 1956 W PETERSEN A 2,773,545

SUBMERGED COMBUSTION EVAPORATION 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 24, 1952 Ow e/l' ZU; Pezerselz BY l Dec. 11, 1356 w. PETERSEN 2,773,545

SUBMERGED COMBUSTION EVAPORATION Filed Oct. 24', 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Il I I INVENTOR. J ,Lowe/ Zul Peemsen nited States Patent tiice 2,773,545 Patented Dec. 11, 1956 SUBMERGED COMBUSTION EVAPORATION Lowell W. Petersen, Homewood, lll., assigner to Swift & Company, Chicago, lil., a corporation of Illinois Application October 24, 1952, Serial No. 316,640

Claims. (Cl. 1559-16) This invention relates to an apparatus for the` concentration of charrable, heat-sensitive liquids and more particularly to an apparatus for effecting the concentrationy of such liquids by direct contact therewith of combusltion gases which have been cooled to a point where -charring of the liquid is avoided. yThe apparatus of the instant invention may be utilized to carry out the method -described and claimed in my copending application, Se-

rial No. 260,847, led December 10, 1951, now U. S. Patent #2,704,120, said application being a division of application, Serial No. 111,744, tiled August 22,-194.9, know U. S. Patent #2,702,594.

The concentration of charrable, heat-sensitive liquids .has 1n the past generally been carried out by indirect heat exchange only, utilizing jacketed vessels of various rtypes wherein the heat medium was separated from theliquid tobe concentrated by metal walls or the like.

The principal reason for this has been the difficultyencountered in the prevention of charring or burning of the liquids when direct contact of the heating gases with of inorganic liquids. However, the problem with respect to the concentration of heat-sensitive organic liquids is much more ditcult. Organic liquids, such as milk, whey, and the like, are extremely heat-sensitive and direct contact of hot combustion gases with such liquids has in the past resulted in considerable charring and burning of the material being concentrated. For ex` ample, when whey is being concentrated for use in animal foods the resulting product of a direct contact combustion gas evaporation is of a blackish-brown color due to charring rather than of the desirable light brown, tan, or cream color of concentrated whey made by less eficient evaporating and concentrating methods. In contrast to the diiculties of charting and the like, the increased efficiency and lower costs of a direct contact combustion concentration plant make it very desirable from the standpoint of economy that some means be devised to permit the use of direct contact combustion gas concentration in the concentration of charrable, heat-sensitiveliquids.

Therefore, it is 'an object of this invention to providey an apparatus 4for effecting the concentration of heat-sensii ti've liquids by direct contact with combustion gases without appreciable charting taking place.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a means for cooling hotl combustion gases prior to direct introduction thereof into a charrable liquid being concentrated.

vAdditional objects, if not specifically set'forth herein, will be readily apparent to one skilled in the art vfrom the following detailed description of the invention.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 illustrates an evaporator body containing the heat exchange unitof the present invention (shown in dotted lines for the purpose of locating the position of such unit within-the evaporator body). This figure is designed to show certain features which are optional for use with the heat exchange unit which itself is more fully illustrated in the remaining drawings.

Fig. 2 represents a sectional front elevation of the heat'exchange unit of the present invention, illustrating in schematic form the relationship between and direction of ow of the various gaseous and liquid components of the system.

Fig. 3 represents a cross-sectional view of the heat exchange unit taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 represents a cross-sectional view of the heat exchange unit of the present invention taken on the line 4 4 of Fig. 1'. f

AGenerally, the present invention relates to an apparatus comprising a self-contained heat exchange unit 'adapted to be inserted into any evaporator body and,

when used in conjunction with a source of hot combustion gases, to provide a means for cooling such gases to a non-charting temperature prior to direct contact of said gases with the liquid to be concentrated, while still reof said gases to provide an etiicienty taining thefheat, concentration.

More specilically, referring now to Fig. 1 of the drawings, there yis illustrated ay conventional evaporator 10 having an upper vapor space 11 and a lower liquid-containing body portion 12. The evaporator is provided with a suitable vapor stack 13, concentrate removal means14, and suitable supporting means 15. The heat exchange unit which comprises the heart of the present invention is illustrated in dotted lines at 16. This unit is more fully illustrated and described in connection with the remaining drawings. However, in order to accurately ylocate the position of such a unit 16 within an evaporator 10, certain portions of said unit are identified on Eig. 1. For example, 17 representsv the cooling means for the motor which drives the heat exchange iiuid mpeller (more fully described below), and 20 represents a .source ot' hot combustion gases, shown here as a gas burner, said source of hot combustion gases communieating with the'heat exchange unit 16 through tube 13 as more fully described below. While the gases may be supplied from any suitable source, it is preferred to utilize a burner, `which may be of any conventional type,

located as illustrated in close proximity to the evaporator shell 10. The fuel for the burner is fed from a suitable supply source (not shown) through line 19' into the combustion chamber off the burner 20 wherein it isy ignited inf the conventional manner by an electrical ignition system 21. Surrounding the burner land completely en- .4, closing it and tube 1,8 up to its connection with heat eX- change unit 16 is a chamber 22 adapted to contain heat transfer fluid circulated by means of pump 23 from the lower end of heat exchange unit 16 into said jacket 22 and thence through pipe 24 and into the upper portion k,of heat exchange'unit 16.

Referring-now to Fig. 2 of the drawings, 16 represents the heat exchange unit of the present invention. This unit mayv be said to comprise in general` three sections. The outermost -section has been designated as 25 and preferably comprises a cylindrical shell containing a plurality of vertical risers or tubes 26 open at both top and bottom to provide communication with the liquid-containing body portion of the evaporator body within-which the unit is to be positioned. The second portion of theh'eat exchange unit- 16 preferably comprises a second cylindrical shell 27 disposed annularly within the first J shell 25. Shell 27 likewise contains a plurality of tubes or risers 28 open at each end, but these tubesVV 28 are sealed from communication with the liquid-containing body portion of the evaporator space in a manner described below. The third comprises a relatively large diameter cylindrical tube disposed annularly within shell 27 and extending downwardly therethrough fromv a point below the top of vsaid shell to a point substantially below the bottom of shells 25 and 27. This tube 29 is vopen at both top and bottom thereof.

For the sake ofclarity in the drawings, only a few of the pluralityof tubes disposed within shells 25 and 27 have beenillustrated. Shell 25, havingl a plurality of open risers or tubes 26extendingftherethrough, isclosed at the bottom by` a connection withtube 29to-fprm a cone-shaped reservoir 30 as shown'in Fig. 2f. Shell 2S extends both above and below innerl shell' 27, shellA 25 having disposed at about the center thereof a raised portion formed by members 31.` It will be seen from-'the drawings that shell 25 therefore comprisesessentially a completely sealed chamber having yextending, there-vr through about the outermost annular portion a, plurality of, vertical: risers. open at'eachend. Mountedatop the elevated upper portion of shell` 2S is a motor ofxconventional design 32, completelyV enclosedWithin4 a liquidtight shell33. This motoriscooled in its operation by means of air admitted through tubes-1.7i extending. laterally from` shell 33` to theexteriorwof theevaporator body, asV shown in the dotted linesiofiFi'g. l.' Motori-32. drives, through shaft 34, an impeller 35. Thisv impeller is mounted within the elevated portion of shelll 25 and serves` to create a flow of the heat exchange iluid within said shell as more fully` described below. Shell 27 is disposedimmediately beneath the raised portion of shell 25 andis provided at its `upper end with an inverted coneshaped bale member 36 which extends upwardly towardsand is attached to impeller collar 39 which surrounds impeller, 3S; Tube 29, disposed annularly as aforesaid within shell 27, is so arranged as to communicate with shell 27 atits upper end, and with/the liquidcontaining portion of the evaporator body at its lower` end. Extending laterally into. and through shell25 at one side thereof is. a tube 18 whichcornmunicates, as illustrated in Fig. l, with a. source of hot combustiongases. Tube 181s connected to and communicates at its innerendwith shell 27. Surrounding tube 18. as it enters the heat exchange unit 16 is a jacketV 22, likewise shown in Fig. l of the drawings. This jacket. 2-2 communicates at its innermost end with. the lower portionof shell 25 and, as shown in Fig. l, is connected` atitsother end via pipe 24 with the upper portion of shell 25.

A morev detailed illustration of shell 25.is afforded by Fig. 3 ofthe` drawings.VA Referring nowto this ligure, -it will be seen.` that the vertical. tubesor risers 26 areso arranged anddisposedtwithin shell 25.` asto leave a substantialamountof, space within shell25tbetweensaidtubes 26. It likewise will be seen from.Fig. 3- thatshell 25 is annularly disposed about tube. 29. Fig. 3 isfa lcrosssectionalview` taken on. theline 3.--3 of Fig. l withthe addition offsorne ofthosetubcs 26 ,omitted from. Fig. 2 for thensake of clarity.in,the. drawing.

A more detailedillustration of shell 27 is afforded by Fig. 4 of. the drawings.V Thistigure illustrates a crosssectional view of shell 27 taken Online -tfttof Figli, adding, asin the lcase. of Fig.l 3, some of the.p1nrali ty `of vertical risers or, tubes28 which wereomitted from .Fig-2 for thesake ofclarity. Thisl drawing likewise illustrates thev annular positioning ofshell` 27 about :the centrally located tube-29. Also shown in this view is` the manner in which the source of hot combustion gases 18 is connected to shell 27. As in the earlier figures, 22 represents the jacket which surrounds tube 18 cornmunicating.with` the.source.of hot combustion gases.

Referring now., tothe operation ofthe apparatusfofgthe present invention, the heat exchange unit 16 is disposed within the liquid-containing body portion of an evaporator body as shown in Fig. l of the drawings. The unit is supported within the evaporator by any suitable brackets or supporting members as illustrated at 38 in Fig. l. In operation hot combustion gases pass through tube 18 and into shell 27 wherein they surround the vertical tubes 28 and the concentrically located tube 29. The hot combustion gases pass upwardly through shell 27, swirlingabout tubes 28 and 29, and at the top of shell 27 pass into and downwardly throughA tube 29, exiting at the base thereof into the body of liquid being concentrated. During the upward passage through shell 27, the hot combustion gases are cooled to a non-charring temperature by indirect heat exchange with a heat transfer or heat conducting fluid contained within tubes 28 and shell 25. It will be noted from Fig. 2 of the drawings that tubes 28 are. in communication both at top and bottom thereof withA the interior of shell 25. Suitable heat; transmitting or conducting fluid is contained within shell1-25. and, both` byl virtue of the heat imparted to the uid within tubes 28 and also by the action of impeller 35, is continually circulated in the direction of the arrows shown in Fig. 2 upwardly through tubes 28, through inverted cone 36, and thencedownwardly within shell 25 to again re-,enter the vertical risers 28. The heat transmittng, or` conducting fluid may be any suitable vaporizable fluid or liquid, organic,l inorganic, or metallic heat transmitting fluid of the types well known to the art. As aforesaid, the hot combustion gases, by virtue of the indirect heat transfer through the walls of the plurality of vertical risers-` 28, impart much of their heat to the heat transfer` uid contained within risers 28. Transfer of heatto cool tube 18 is effected as the gases enter through said tube by means` of heat transfer to the fluid within the jacket 22 surrounding tube 18. Jacket 22, as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, communicates with the lower portion of` shellV 25 aty oneendand is connected at its other end throughpipe 24`with tl'ieupperY portion of shell 2S. A suitable pump 23may` be disposed in line 24, as illustrated inllhtg.,A 1, to insure adequate circulation of the fluid through jacket22. The cooled combustion gases pass-downwardlyfthrough pipe 29, as aforesaid, and into V the body-of liquid to be` concentrated. The gases mix withv thisliquid and-bubble upwardly therethrough. Almostall of the gases entering `the liquid from pipe 29 are directed, along with the concentrating liquid, into vertical `tubes 26 by the `gas-retaining ring 40 in the manner shown by the arrows on Fig. 2. Tubes 26 are annularly disposed 'about the interiorof shell 25. Asthe mixture ofV gas and liquidrrises through tubes-26, additional heat istransferredfrom theheat transfer fluid passing downwardlyaround risers 26 throughnthewalls of risers 26 'to the .rnixtur er.,of gases. andwliquid passing upwardly inside of these risers, Asthemixture exits from the-upperlends,`

oftubes' `26, the gases` continue upV through th e liquid andare vvdischargedthrough vapor stack 13 as` showniin, Fig. 1. Thediquid, of course, remains within the liquidcontaining portionuof the evaporator body `and again is contacted with; theincoming partially cooled hot gases` from ltubes 29. As illustrated vin Figs. 1 and` 2, the impeller 3`5AisV driven by amotor 32 positioned above-shelly 25,.` This motor` isv cooled inoperation by air admitted through tubes 17 from the exterior of the evaporator bndr-r When vthe liquid centaine@ Within thezbndypnrtipn of ,the evapnrainri iS cnnsnntrated .tn the. desired-degree... it lmay bedrawn off through line` 14 (Fig. l) at the `baseof the evaporator for further processing.

Itis obvious that the combustion gasesmay be supplied-from` any suitable source,` although, as indicated, it

is. preferred to utilizea burner located adjacent the. evaporator shell. Any conventional burner known tothe f art may beutilized in conjunction with-the heat exchange means of` the, present invention.

Further,` the heat ex-r` abras-1s change unit of the present invention may be utilized for low pressure operation as well -as -for recirculationof heat transfer uid. In such event an easily vaporized heat transfer fluid, such as water, would be maintained within shell 25. The fluid would be vaporized within tubes 28 by virtue of the heat imparted to it by the hot gases passing upwarding within shell 27. These vapors would then pass into shell `25, condense on the outside of tubes 26, and pass downwardly to reservoir 30 for revaporization inside of the liquid circulating tubes 28.

The temperature of the hot combustion gases .leaving the combustion chamber will vary to a considerable extent, depending on the fuel used. A typical gaseous fuel, such as a natural gas composed of approximately 82.8 percent CH4, 16.3 percent C2He, and 0.8 percent illuminants, when mixed with 9 to 10 volumes of air will produce a temperature of about 1,8002,800 F. in the cornbustion chamber, depending upon the gas-air ratio used. These gases, by passage through the apparatus disclosed and claimed herein, will be reduced in temperature at their point of contact with the liquid to be concentrated, i. e., at the base of tube 29, to any predetermined gas temperature of approximately 190 F. to approximately 700 F., depending upon the heat transfer surface built into heat transfer unit 16. The liquid to be concentrated will not rise within tube 29 to any appreciable extent by virtue of the pressure of the cooled gases as they pass downwardly through tube 29.

As can be seen from the foregoing description, the apparatus of the present invention successfully overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art use of direct contact combustion gas concentration of charrable, heatsensitive, or organic liquids, thereby opening up a new and more eicient field of concentrating such liquids to the industry. This invention is of particular value to the dairy, sugar, and other industries engaged in concentrating solutions of organic materials. It is obvious that the invention could be used in the concentration of inorganic solutions, but it would in general find small usage in such fields since the problem of charring, as pointed out above, is usually not present in the concentration of most inorganic solutions.

The term charring as used in the specification and appended claims describes the condition at which concentrating organic products begin to approach a blackish color. By the term charrable is meant that property of the product which renders it subject to charring.

Obviously, many modifications and variations of the invention as hereinbefore set forth may be made without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, and therefore only such limitations should be imposed as are indicated in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for the concentration of charrable organic liquids, adapted to be disposed within the liquidcontaining portion of an evaporator body, comprising: a completely closed shell having a plurality of open tubes extending. therethrough about the periphery thereof means associated with said shell for introducing a heat exchange medium thereinto; a second completely closed shell disposed concentrically within said first mentioned shell; a plurality of open tubes extending through and disposed about the periphery of said second shell, said tubes of said second shell communicating at each end thereof with the interior of said first mentioned shell;

ganic liquids which comprises,` in'combination with ari evaporator body containing a charrable organic liquid: a completely closed shell disposed within the liquid containing evaporator body; means for introducing hot gases into said shell; a completely closed, self-contained heat transfer system surrounding both said closed shell and said means for introducing hot gases therein; a plurality of open tubes extending through said completely closed shell and communicating at each end thereof with said heat transfer system; an outlet providing communication between the interior of said shell and said charrable organic liquids for removing gases from said shell for use in direct heating of said charrable organic liquids after cooling of said gases by indirect heat exchange with said heat transfer system; and means included in said heat transfer system for indirectly heating the said charrable organic liquids.

3. A device suitable for submerged heat exchange with a substance, which comprises: a shell, a second shell positioned within said first-mentioned shell, a plurality of conduits extending through said first-mentioned shell and partially surrounding said second shell, outlet and inlet means communicating with said second shell, additional conduit means extending through said second shell and communicating with the interior of said first-mentioned shell, said additional conduit means at least partially surrounding the point of communication of said outlet means w-ith said second shell, and means associated with said first shell for introducing a heat exchange medium thereinto.

4. A device suitable for direct and indirect heat exchange in adjusting the temperature of a substance, which comprises: a shell, outlet and inlet means associated with said shell, conduits extending through said shell and completely closed off from communication with the interior of said shell, a second shell surrounding said first-mentioned shell, said conduits communicating with the interior of said second shell, said outle-t means extending through said second shell and closed from communication with the interior thereof, additional conduits extending through said second shell and closed from communication with the interior thereof, and means associated wi-th said second-mentioned shell for introducing a heat exchange medium thereinto.

5. A device suitable for concentrating heat-sensitive material which comprises: a closed heat transfer system, conduits extending through the interior of said system to conduct heat-sensitive material through said system and provide indirect heat transfer between said system and said heat-sensitive material, a second heat transfer system mounted within said first-mentioned heat transfer system and out of communication with the interior of said first-mentioned heat transfer system, additional conduits extending through the interior of said second system and communicating with the interior of said first-mentioned system, heat transfer material confined in said first-mentioned system, circulating means associated with said first-mentioned system to circulate said heat transfer material through said first-mentioned system and through said additional conduits, means for introducing a heating medium into the interior of said second heat transfer system, and outlet means associated with the interior of said second heat transfer system and extending through said first-mentioned heat transfer system out of communication With the interior thereof, said outlet means being suitable for introducing said heating medium directly into said heat-sensitive material following the partial cooling of said heating medium by indirect contact with the heat transfer material of said first-mentioned heat transfer system.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 54,730 Howell May 1S, 1866 (Other references on following page) :7 '.,UNITEDSTATES PATENTSv Hornbrook 0cm-6,1903' :Lebzeit MarslS, 1921 :Sauter Mar. 3,11931 :Gray Dec. 20,1932 rGenil etal.` Ian. .16, 1951 Kimmel et a1. Jan. i1-8, 1952 `Glasgowet al Jan. 20,:1953

FOREIGN PATENTS Great Britain Dee. 17, 1873 i8 .Germany Dec. 10, 187B Great Britain Oct. 18, 1920 Great Britain July. 24, 1-930 fGreat'Britailzi `Mar `9, 1934 OTHER REFERENCES .and Eng.Chemistry, pps. 984-7, Sept. 1933. 

